Netflix Is Removing Comedy Series With Blackface From Platform
Netflix is looking to get out of the blackface business. BBC series The League Of Gentlemen has been pulled from the service because of a blackface character named Papa Lazarou. And Australian & New Zealand audiences will no longer be able to watch four shows from comedian Chris Lilly on Netflix, according to Deadline.com.
Deadline reports that Angry Boys, Summer Heights High, We Can Be Heroes, and Jonah From Tonga have all been taken off the platform because they feature content that raises racial discrimination concerns. In the shows, Lily can be seen in some instances portraying characters of other races, and in some instances wearing black or brown makeup. One of his characters, S. Mouse, uses the n-bomb.and raps about his big black balls.
The Australian born and raised stand up comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, and musician made his television debut in 2003 and his career took off.
Controversy has followed his career with criticism and backlash over his portrayal of bullying, mental disabilities, race and homophobia. In 2014 his character, Jonah Takalua was attached as stereotyping Pacific Islanders. Jonah From Tonga has continued to receive outrage from many civil rights organizations. In 2017 Lilley deleted his social media account after heat following the posting of an S. Mouse clip titled Squashed Nigga reached a pitch. In 2019 he faced new push back for darkening his skin to play a South African woman named Jana who may have been inspired by Rachel Dolezal.
Lilly has defended his characters from backlash in the past as layered and thoughtful, or playing with stereotypes to make observations about narrow minded attitudes. But in 2020 Netflix isn’t taking changes.
Watch a clips of his character S. Mouse and Trailers of Jonah From Tonga, Summer Heights High and We Can Be Heroes
